GREENVILLE – New technology at Vidant Medical Center (VMC) is helping save time and money—for patients and the physicians who treat them.

The hospital recently installed an updated version of the Chemistry/Immunoassay Automated Testing Platform, which provides a consistent, more reliable way to test blood samples.

“A reduced turnaround time for analyzing the samples and improved quality and consistency of the results benefits everyone involved in the process,” said Rick Ross, MT, ASCP, laboratory system service line administrator for Vidant Health. “Efficiency for our physicians means patients spend less time waiting for samples to be collected, for the necessary tests to be run and for those results to inform the care and treatment provided.”

A capital investment of $2.2 million in the technology—which doesn’t include operating costs—benefits most patients treated at VMC.

“The collection of blood samples is something that just about every patient experiences when they come through the doors of VMC. Improving this process positively affects hundreds of thousands of people,” said Richard Baltaro, MD, PhD, director of chemistry for VMC. “Fast, accurate testing is incredibly important, especially in terms of our Emergency Department, where time matters greatly.”

The advantages to this improved system extend beyond the patient as well.

“This also provides a huge benefit to our current team members, as it enables them to be much more efficient,” said Ross. “Not to mention having an automated testing platform is an added incentive to potential clinical laboratory and technologist employees who may not consider joining Vidant otherwise.”

Following a year-long installation process, the updated platform went into effect Sept. 26, 2017. Currently only available at VMC, the same equipment will eventually be in use at all Vidant hospitals.

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About Vidant Health

About Vidant Health Vidant Health is a mission-driven, 1,447-bed health system that annually serves more than 1.4 million people in 29 eastern North Carolina counties. The not-for-profit system is made up of 12,000 employees, eight hospitals, home health, hospice, wellness centers, and Vidant Medical Group, a multi-specialty physician and provider group with more than 420 providers in more than 80 practice sites in eastern North Carolina. Vidant is affiliated with The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. As a major resource for health services and education, Vidant has a mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. For more information, visit www.vidanthealth.com.